The season of all things bridal has begun. Recently, F-Bar at The Ashok played host to a preview of the bridal collection of the designer duo of Gunjan Arora and Rahul Jain as part of Bridal Asia. Jewellery came from designer Payal Gupta's ‘Ziya' Collection.
The collection, coming from people who have just made their foray into wedding wear after years of specialisation in cocktail dresses, had elements from the arenas of bridal and non-bridal.
As Gunjan Arora explains, “It's not pure bridal. There are a lot of elements from cocktail wear as cocktail allows you to experiment much more.”
For instance, georgette saris came in combinations of olive and grey. A kind of sharper degradé effect was achieved by using panels of mottled green, black and magenta on another one with a textured pallu. One blouse came with a silk bow at the back. Lace edged a Columbia blue sari with delicate gold thread embroidery.
Embellishments were used differently, be it in the case of a sequinned bodice mattified through the clever use of net or a jewellery pattern embroidered on the transparent net back.
“All our materials are hand-crafted,” says Arora. “Silver foil has been pounded to look like beads. The thread used on the embroidery is pure silk. Only natural fabrics have been used — no synthetics, no plastic.”
Indian silhouettes played host to techniques imported or invented. A panelled lehenga in midnight blue and dull gold tussar, with bursts of red floral appliqué, looked quilted. As the designer explained, cotton sheets underneath did the trick.
Piping lent weight to otherwise flowy pallus.
While the collection is called ‘Nava Rasa', there's no adherence to a particular concept. “We don't want to restrict ourselves to themes. A bride can be angry, wild or dreamy. It's for all kinds of brides,” says Arora.
Textile art is a concept dear to the designers. Through Thread Arte, the designers have been trying to give a new shape to, as the name suggests, thread. “It started from waste threads from our own factory, by stitching it by hand. We've been doing this for the past five to six years. Through this we can not just create abstract forms but also faces and toons. We can make garments that are moulded to the body, seamless. We also make wall panels and wall art,” elaborates Arora.
While April saw a show in Dubai, the Nehru Centre in London is currently playing host to another. Come December, and a solo show at The Stainless Gallery kicks off. Reason enough for fashionistas to smile!